國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
3.3 The Extensibility of the Inner Realm
The inner realm not only has containing quality but also has expandability. It allows the inner realm to reach out to the external realm, and makes more possibility.
The life is “deep and swift” (L 1031); however, Dickinson has another category of greater existence in mind. The inner realm that has long fascinated her and the strange intimacy that consists of her heart, soul, and mind is what the poet is fascinated to explore. In addition to the theme that is related domestic space, it is not difficult to discover a lot more themes concerning heart, soul, and mind. Among the themes that depict various mental conditions of the inner realm, the expandability of the inner realm is what catches the attention. The expandability enables the inner realm to extend to the outside world, which opens for a possibility to make happen Dickinson’s home-making. When the internal reaches out to the external, the enclosed interior no longer is confined with fixity. The crossing out from the enclosed inner realm breaks the rigid boundary of physical confinement, which allows the encounter to happen.
The inner realm of heart, soul, and mind is not ranked with order or priority. The focus will only be on the expandable quality of the three.
In a poem “The Life we have is very great,” the poet expresses her fascination about the expandability of the heart. The poem shows the expandability of a human heart, and again expresses the possibility within such expandability. The heart, though invisible, is full of power of force:
The Life we have is very great.
The Life that we shall see Surpasses it, we know, because It is Infinity.
But when all Space has been beheld And all Dominion shown
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The smallest Human Heart’s extent Reduces it to none.
(Fr 1178)
In the beginning of the poem, the poet starts with a hierarchical statement about two lives: the life we are leading “now” and the life that “we shall see.” The life we have now is described by the poet as “great.” However, the life that shall be seen
“Surpasses it.” The two “its” here indicate to different lives. The first “it” which is introduced after the verb “surpasses,” refers to the “life we have now.” The second “it,”
which is placed after subordinating conjunction “Because,” refers to “Infinity.” The hierarchy between two lives seems to be reasonable; however, there is an undertone behind the lines. The word “Infinity,” which is defined as a state with no beginning and no ending, has a condition of endlessness and changelessness. Since Infinity is an existence without definite bound, the term has the extent and the quality of
continuance and endlessness. “Infinity” in this sense, displays a certain ambiguous status that begins from nowhere and ends in nowhere. Seemingly limitless and
boundless, the life of Infinity surpasses the life we have currently. However, the word
“surpass” denotes another meaning in the Lexicon with contrasting implication. Other than the general definitions such as “excel, exceed in value or importance, and
weightier,” the Lexicon offers an opposite definition. The word “surpass” denotes “be worse,” “lower something’s value,” and “make something less important” (EDL). The definitions thus here indicate that the poet probably has something different in mind.
The life of Infinity, is not so attractive and glamorous as it is. Life without changing and ending is indeed headless and boundless. Having no beginning and having no termination, the life of Infinity can end up leading to nowhere. With the undertone hidden behind the previous statement, the poet proceeds to reveal her arrangement of the hierarchy.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Whether the life we shall see is greater or “less valued” (EDL) than the life we have now, the poet seems to be unsatisfied with the statement that “we know.” She proposes her argument with the transitional word, introducing her own opinion. When
“all Space has been” seen and “all Dominion [be] shown,” the moment presents the power of perception. Space, a term that has the quality of time and distance, is perceived by human comprehension. Similarly, Dominion, which is only valid when being owned, presents a power and an authority. The quality of the two terms seems to be great and infinite; however, there is limitation in them. The power of Space and Dominion is only released when they are owned. The philosophical argument comes to an end when the poet states her idea of the power of the human heart. She praises the “extent” of a human heart, despite of the fact that the heart is the “smallest.”
Infinity is something that beyond comprehension, and it is of “known and unknown”
(EDL). The suggestive explanations the Lexicon provides, indicates that the poet, probably after a deep contemplation on life, has arrived to her conclusion. When all the “known and unknown were being considered” and “all Dominion shown,” it is
“reduce[d]” by the extent of the Human Heart. To make a better parallel with that of Infinity, Space, and Dominion, the poet intentionally emphasizes the Human Heart by presenting the two words “human” and “heart” with capitalization. That is to say, the fleshly and the smallest human heart can even reduce the greatness of Infinity, Space, and Dominion. The unknown of Infinity and Space is not what captures the poet’s mind, because she does not praise the greatness of the two. The word “extent” has explications such as “space, capacity, period of time” (EDL), indicating that the heart is seen by the poet as endowed with quality of capacity. The third “it” can indicate to
“The Life that we shall see,” “Space” and “Dominion.” The terms are presented in
“all” as singular nouns. The poem expresses how Dickinson forms her idea of the potentiality of human heart and makes a bold conclusion that a heart’s extent has a
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
force which enlarges the inner realm with potentiality and possibility.
Soul, which is another significant composition of the inner realm, is often emphasized in Dickinson’s mentality poems as well. As Dickinson says, she “loves the timid soul” (L39) which hides away from the public, and she prefers to keep the most privacy. The deep site of the hiding soul makes itself a most hidden place of the inner realm. In a poem concerning the measurement of solitude, the poet expresses the immensity and the profundity of the hidden soul:
There is a solitude of space A solitude of sea
A solitude of Death, but these Society shall be
Compared with that profounder site That polar privacy
A soul admitted to itself - [Finite Infinity]6
(Fr 1696)
The poem begins with an introductory sentence: there is a solitude of space. The word
“solitude” is defined in the Lexicon as “distance” other than general definition such as loneliness. The introductory sentence then leads to two other objects of ideas which also indicate immensity: sea and Death. Three objects that the poet takes to link with this solitude aim to explicate the idea of greatness. Among the three immensities, space and Death are abstract ideas which are beyond measurement. If space and Death can be put with measurement of distance, the poet indicates, such distance would be so huge that to proximately survey the extent is impossible. Comparing to space and
6 Franklin’ version of the poem diverges from that of Johnson’s. He deleted the last line “Finite Infinity,” but the reason and the choice of such decision is not explained in his note. Neither scholars mention Franklin’s diversified version of the poem.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Death, two abstract ideas which are invisible, sea is a natural landscape which can be seen and explored. However, the immensity of sea is still being explored, which is still immeasurable.
The great distance of “space,” “sea,” and “Death,” under the introduction of the poet, is making a sense of greatness that is beyond measurement. But, with a
transitional word inserted soon after three huge comparing objects, the poet introduces another object which is even greater. This object, not revealing its details yet, is put into comparison by the poet with a demand. The “society shall be compared with” a
“profounder site” deep down in somewhere. The profounder site is located at “polar privacy,” indicating the depth of such location. The word “polar” is defined in the Lexicon as “solitary and remote,” which is different from general definition of
“opposite and polar region.” Moreover, the word “privacy,” other than general definitions such as “seclusion and secrecy,” is defined differently in the Lexicon as
“isolation and solitude.” Something that is hidden deep in this solitary site is even remoter than that of space, sea, and Death. “A soul admitted to itself,” finally confessing and revealing itself.
This private soul, which is located in a “profounder” position, is deeper than the immensity of the largest geographical domain of sea and the most intense uncertainty of Death. Moreover, it is being compared with the immeasurable concept of space. By describing the profound site of the soul, the poet again illustrates her idea of the containing quality of the inner realm. The soul, being kept in deep solitary site, indicates the depth of the inner realm. The last line of the poem is not adopted by the Franklin version, but is shown in the Johnson’s version. The last line, which indicates a contradictory concept of the soul, shows Dickinson’s strong philosophical logic. As the poet was formerly astonished to know that the body contains the soul, the last line well describes the idea of this “finite infinity.” The soul, which is locating in a solitary
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立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
site in restricted physical form of the body, “admit[s] to itself.” The strong isolation of this private soul is thus highlighted by Dickinson. The poem explicates Dickinson’s love of the secrecy, and also shows a solitary soul that is being hidden in an isolated site. Life is like a secret, that Dickinson herself would exclaim if she unveiled the secret of the life: “Had we the first intimation of the Definition of Life, the calmest of us would be Lunatics!” (L 492) The intimacy that Dickinson was searching for was something that would astonish her. The great secret of life that is attracting the poet to figure out can actually turns her to be “Lunatics.” Secret, life, and soul, under
Dickinson’s logic of thought, share the same quality: intimacy and remoteness seem to be one of the two sides. It is compatible as well as contradictory.
The containing quality of the inner realm is also shown when human beings process their thinking in mind. In the last poem “The Brain is wider than the Sky” (Fr 598) I aim to explore the containing quality of the last composition of the inner realm, which is the mind, to explicates Dickinson’ s spatial perception:
The Brain - is wider than the Sky - For - put them side by side - The one the other will contain With ease - and You - beside -
The Brain is deeper than the sea - For - hold them - Blue to Blue - The one the other will absorb - As Sponges - Buckets - do -
The Brain is just the weight of God - For - Heft them - Pound for Pound - And they will differ - if they do - As Syllable from Sound -
(Fr 598)
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The poem is presented with a symmetrical organization, and the subject in the poem is manifesting: the Brain. In the first stanza, the poet compares the Brain with “the Sky.”
Different from that of general definition of the Brain as “intelligence and
understanding,” the Lexicon specifically highlights the definitions of the word in this poem as “consciousness, center of thought, and seat of the soul.” The definition of the Brain by the Lexicon indicates what the poet has in mind is not merely an
understanding and intelligence of human mind, but a more mental perspective for her choice of word. Thus, the comparison starts from a mental perspective to examine this human mind. The comparison includes two dimensions that explicate the extensibility of mind: the Brain has extreme width and depth.
As the poem starts, the Brain, which stands as “consciousness, center of thought, and seat of the soul” is “wider than the Sky.” Additionally, the Lexicon explicates the word “wider” differently as “comprehensive, absorbent, all encompassing,” showing a huge extensibility and containing quality of human mind. This center of thought in human mind even has more comprehension and absorption than that of the Sky. Since the Sky is a sphere that does not have specific range and measurement, the poet is putting the mind’s encompassing quality to limitless. Then, the poet makes an illustration for her idea of such limitless brain. Problematically, the single subject in the beginning of the poem turns to the plural, for the poet “puts them side by side.” If the Brain is explicated by the Lexicon as “center of thought” and “seat of the soul,”
the plural form of the subjects here became meaningless. Would the poet probably think of many thoughts in the Brain, that she makes an intentional mistake? These limitless thoughts, when putting side by side, display the extensibility and containing quality of the inner realm. The word “contain” has strong explication for its
containing quality. It is defined in the Lexicon as “enclose, have capacity for,” which suggests that the Brain not only loads but also hides. The Brain “encloses” these side-
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立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
by-side thoughts and all the other things being contained inside, and keeps them “with ease.” What is the poet having in mind with an addressee “You” being put in the end of the stanza? Would the person being kept well in the memory of the Brain?
In the next stanza the poet compares the Brain with “the sea” with another dimension, the depth. The consciousness and thought in the mind is “deeper than the sea,” showing that the mind not only has containing ability, but also has the depth just like that of the soul. By putting these thoughts of the mind “Blue to Blue,” they will
“absorb” one another. The absorbing quality of the mind is like “Sponges,” gathering all the things inside. Moreover, the amount of loading is as “bucket,” which indicates a large amount of water and overflowing. The two stanzas are being arranged with symmetry and is coordinating. However, with slight difference of punctuation such as the dash which is firstly introduced after “the Brain” in the first stanza, the poet expresses a difference in tone. Like talking in a wild exclamation of the width of the Brain, the poet inserts a dash before she makes the comparison. The dash, functions as a pause, is expressed as the wonder and amazement to the extensibility of the Brain.
In comparison, the statement in the second stanza appears to be more calm and direct, showing a more steady tone of the poet.
After two comparisons are made, the poet moves on to the third stanza. In the ending paragraph of the poem, the poet states an equation instead of a comparison.
Here in the third stanza, the poet sees the Brain as “just the weight of God.” The problematic statement once again raises question: what would be God’s weight then?
If one lifts the thoughts in the mind “Pound for Pound,” these thoughts will “differ – if they do.” And the poet ends the line with a metaphor for her statement: “As Syllable from Sound.” The metaphor indicates another idea of the thoughts. These thoughts are all different. Though they can be put side by side, and is able to absorb and contain each other, each thought weighs differently. Just like the weight of God cannot truly
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
be measured, the weight of thoughts cannot be measured either. Each thought weighs differently and has different meaning just like that of the syllables. Thoughts come out separately from mind, which is just like the syllables coming out from sound. The line shows Dickinson’s emphasis of human mind, which can be equally significant with God. The poem shows Dickinson’s clever comparison to manifest her idea of the extensibility of mind. And by the poem she expresses her confidence in human mind, which is as important as that of God.
What is precious about the inner realm is its containing quality and extensibility.
With the width and depth inside, the internal can gather all the possibilities. The significant human nature with a possibility inside can extend to the external with power and force. When a tiny human heart extends, it can even reduce the great life and space to none. When the mind thinks, it can think of any possibility. When the inner realm contains, it contains great power. Once the inner realm extends from inside, it turns the enclosed interiority to an expanded exteriority. Life is so great that the secrets and riddles of life is what Dickinson aims to explore. She is a thinker and a poet. To choose to stay at home, Dickinson makes a choice that is not helpless but optimistic. Just as the poet once says, “[t]he power to fly is sweet, though one defer[s]
the flying, as Liberty is Joy, though never used” (L 498). The liberty is always at hand, but for her, there is always liberty for composing and thinking, and if the owner of such liberty would want to fly away from the rigidity of life, she is already freed from the confinement. Like the deferred joy, she never uses such liberty to escape from the rigidity that in a sense confines her. She stays and takes hold what she has, the strong inner realm that no one can easily access to, and deals with that enclosed interiority.
Dickinson learns of accumulating intense experiences in that enclosed space of inner realm, and when the time comes, she “launches” herself with the experiences she has accumulated in life, like a Vesuvius at home.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Staying at home is Dickinson’s way of learning life. It is a philosophical lesson of dealing with the innermost realm inside her. The confinement of a domestic life is not a dead-end situation forcing her to helplessly stay at home but a possibility for her to experience a fixed life in a different way. As she once said, “To know of your homes is comforting. I trust they are both peace. Home is the riddle of the wise – the booty of the dove” (L 737). As a keen thinker, staying at home solving that “riddle of the wise” does not seem so pessimistic. Though home is also a defining question for Emily Dickinson, it stands as treasure as “booty” for the dove which is resting safely
Staying at home is Dickinson’s way of learning life. It is a philosophical lesson of dealing with the innermost realm inside her. The confinement of a domestic life is not a dead-end situation forcing her to helplessly stay at home but a possibility for her to experience a fixed life in a different way. As she once said, “To know of your homes is comforting. I trust they are both peace. Home is the riddle of the wise – the booty of the dove” (L 737). As a keen thinker, staying at home solving that “riddle of the wise” does not seem so pessimistic. Though home is also a defining question for Emily Dickinson, it stands as treasure as “booty” for the dove which is resting safely